As part of the 2022 C&I Industry Leaders Forum, Skye Jackson, General Manager Merchandise, discusses the significant work Ampol has been doing across its retail business and developing its future energy strategy.
C&I: What have been the biggest highlights for Ampol over the past 12 months?
Jackson: The past 12 months have represented a significant period of change and growth for Ampol. We progressed the revitalisation of Ampol across our network and have rebranded more than 1,200 sites over the past 18 months. The rebrand has provided the opportunity to refresh our shop formats, and earlier this year we launched our new format in partnership with Woolworths, MetroGo.
Importantly, we released our future energy and decarbonisation strategies in May last year, which outlined our plans to decarbonise our operations and create new solutions for customers across electricity, hydrogen, biofuels, and carbon mitigation. In April, we launched our electric vehicle fast charging brand, AmpCharge, as well as our plans for the national roll out.
It was also exciting to see significant work delivered to improve our organisation culture, including some of our teams moving into a new head office in Alexandria and the launch of our refreshed recognition program, Ampol Achievers.
C&I: What will be your main priorities for the remainder of 2022?
Jackson: Delivering the plan – we’ve set our objectives for the year and now we are all about execution. We are working to deliver an additional 50 Ampol Woolworths MetroGo stores this year, which is a lot of work across many areas of our business.
C&I: What is your company doing to meet changing customer demands?
Jackson: In our retail offer, we recently introduced the new Ampol Woolworths MetroGo format, which is catering to the needs of our time-poor customers and providing a one-stop-shop for grocery essentials and food on-the-go. During the onset of COVID-19, our customers embraced the convenience of online delivery platforms such as Uber Eats. As we emerge from the pandemic, we’re seeing consistent and growing demand for this convenient solution, and we intend to further develop our e-commerce offer.
C&I: What does your crystal ball say about the year ahead in convenience?
Jackson: I think we’re in for a strong year. Lockdowns have had a significant impact on our operations over the past two years, but (fingers crossed) they’re a thing of the past.
We are still feeling pressures, such as the decline in tobacco, but the industry is making good progress in pivoting their offers to close this gap through format and offer innovation.
C&I: What do you enjoy most about what you do?
Jackson: I love leading a team to drive results, collaborating on strategy creation, and executing plans that deliver on our customers’ needs. I love how faced paced our industry is and I’m excited about the opportunities we have to transform our channel and define the future of roadside retailing.